The preparation of many different food and beverage products has evolved greatly over time. For instance, in addition to formulaic and/or recipe changes, many different types of machines, appliances, and processes have been created, allowing for simplified production, automated production, mass production and/or distribution, and so on. While certain of these changes have occurred at food or beverage processing plants, many improvements have also been presented in the area of food and beverage services, such as for restaurants, convenience stores, and home use.
Milkshakes, malts, and other ice cream mixtures are one such area where improved machines and/or processes have been offered in an effort to provide a consumer with an optimal product for consumption. For example, since consistency is a major factor in milkshake enjoyment, many advances have been made regarding their blending, whipping, stirring, etc., where typically, a rotary blade or mixer is either lowered into a container holding the consumable content, or else the container is advanced towards the rotary blade/mixer to move the container's contents into contact with the blade/mixer.
When implemented at a restaurant (e.g., an ice cream shop), a server generally takes an order from a customer, inserts the appropriate contents into the container (e.g., ice cream, candies, flavor syrups, etc.), and then mixes the product to the desired consistency using an associated mixing/blending machine. Prior to mixing another product with different ingredients, the machine's components (e.g., blades/mixers/etc.) should then be cleaned by the server in order to avoid cross-contamination between orders, and to remain a generally clean food-service environment.
More recent technological advances have allowed for a milkshake or other frozen drink to be made quickly from a block of ingredients pre-frozen into a serving cup. For instance, a consumer may now choose the type or flavor to be prepared, and insert the pre-packaged container into an automated machine, which automatically inserts the blades/mixers into the container, and mixes/blends the contents to provide the finished product, e.g. the blended milkshake, at the desired consistency, to the consumer. In some machines, various ingredients may also be added to the mixture during the mixing/blending, such as milk, water, syrups, candies, etc. These types of machines thus minimize or eliminate the requirement of a specialized server, and certain of these machines also have provisions for automating the cleaning of the blades/mixers and various splash shields that are in place to protect the user and surrounding environment from contents that spill from the containers during use.